Viveik Oberoi gets candid about Inside Edge, Ajit anna and more

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Viveik Oberoi

It was the year 2002 when Saathiya released in India, catapulting Viveik Oberoi into fame, making him the ‘chocolate boy’ of Indian cinema, a term used for actors playing cute roles. After doing several movies like Grand Masti, Krrish 3 and Great Grand Masti, the actor recently forayed into web TV shows. His latest web series, Inside Edge is an Indian-American series based on a fictional T20 cricket team, Mumbai Mavericks, where Viveik plays Vikrant Dhavan, the owner of one of the world’s leading sports management companies. With Season One being a big hit, the actor is now working on Season Two and Three.

“Inside Edge did so well last year and thanks to its massive success, we are now working on the next two seasons,” says Viveik. “The thing about a web series and the digital space is that people are tuned into it constantly. There’s always hype to find out what the character arc is — whether he’s going to stay and if yes, for how many more episodes.” As far as other projects are concerned, the actor just started a new project with Boyapati Srinu, one of Tollywood’s prominant directors. The actor also has a movie in the pipeline with Ram Charan Tej. “On the back of that, I am starting a project with Ekta Kapoor, ALTBalaji in association with Mukesh Ambani and Jio, called The Family where I’ll play the lead role. It’s a web series for ALT, made on a massive scale based on the Mumbai underworld. So basically after Shootout in Lokhandwala in 2007, I am going back to a familiar space,” says Viveik with a smile.

We ask him about regional movies being at par with Bollywood now, and whether there’s a clear distinction between the two — given that movies like Bahubali scored high at the box office last year. “I think there’s no line anymore. There’s nothing called regional cinema or Bollywood anymore. It’s just good, successful, entertaining cinema that can capture your attention. And, with the advent of digital, content is king.” Viveik points out that viewers in India are watching TV shows like Narcos, where we neither know a word of Spanish or know who Pablo Escobar was. “It’s because the storytelling is so great that people watch it. Regardless of the language, as long as storytelling is on point, the movie is going to do well.”

In 2017, Viveik made his Kollywood entry with Vivegam with actor Ajith. “We shot in Serbia at -17 degrees Celsius. Ajith anna was giving warm cups of tea to everyone. This warmth and camaraderie is uncommon.”